Confinement Effects on Cross-Linking within Electrostatic Layer-by

Macromolecules 2010, 43, 9473–9479

9473

DOI: 10.1021/ma102043d

Confinement Effects on Cross-Linking within Electrostatic Layer-by-Layer Assemblies Containing Poly(allylamine hydrochloride) and Poly(acrylic acid) Woo-Sik Jang,† Anne T. Jensen,‡ and Jodie L. Lutkenhaus*,^,§ †

Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, United States, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269, United States, and §Department of Chemical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, United States. ^ Present address: Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX ‡

Received September 2, 2010; Revised Manuscript Received October 18, 2010

ABSTRACT: Thermal cross-linking is widely used to impart stability or improved mechanical properties to layer-by-layer (LbL) assemblies. However, the kinetics of thermal cross-linking within LbL films is not well understood. Furthermore, because LbL films are generally ultrathin (